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Aussies urged to claim their share of millions of unclaimed cash

<p>Aussies are being urged to claim their share of $577 million which is sitting unclaimed with Revenue NSW, with about $234 million of that designated as belonging to residents who have yet to claim it.</p> <p>During the last financial year, NSW Government returned more than $21.8 million in unclaimed funds to Aussies, setting a record in the process. </p> <p>The unclaimed funds are comprised of payments, refunds, unpresented cheques, dividends and other money that organisations cannot transfer to its rightful owners, sometimes due to something as simple as changed addresses or bank accounts.</p> <p>While $234 million is being held by the government for NSW residents who are known, the further $343 million is designated to those who live outside New South Wales or are currently unknown. </p> <p>For Sydney residents alone, approximately $85.4 million is currently waiting to be claimed by rightful owners. </p> <p>The average amount of unclaimed money owed on the register is $391, and more than $154 million has been claimed back from the government in the past decade.</p> <p>“Despite doing our best to give unclaimed money back to the people it’s owed to, we’re still seeing more money referred to us than people are claiming,” Chief Commissioner of State Revenue Scott Johnston said.</p> <p>“We want to make sure everyone knows about the unclaimed money register, so they can jump online, find out if any money is owed to them and undertake the process to get it back."</p> <p>“That way we can ensure more money is being returned to those it belongs to, rather than sitting with us for extended periods of time after enterprises and organisations pass it on.”</p> <p>You can find more information about the unclaimed funds, and search the register for your share on <a href="https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/unclaimed-money" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link-type="article-inline">Revenue NSW’s website</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Money & Banking

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Police accused of "straight up revenue raising" after controversial act

<p>New South Wales Police has been called out for the controversial way an officer hid to catch unsuspecting motorists during the double demerits public holiday over the Anzac Day weekend. </p> <p>Motoring journalist David McCowen accused the police of "straight up revenue raising" after capturing a video of an unmarked police car blocking a busy cycle path in a “hidden” spot on the Alfords Point Bridge in Sydney’s southwest on Sunday.</p> <p>“This is bulls**t,” McCowen said in the clip which has been viewed more than 500,000 times.</p> <p>“This is a highway patrol dude that is blocking a cycleway and running path here at Alfords Point Bridge between St George and Sutherland Shire, trying to book people hidden behind a concrete wall in an unmarked car on a double demerits weekend on a long downhill descent on a bridge."</p> <p>“That’s just crap. That is not serving the community. That is straight up revenue raising and I’m not about it. You can’t see him.”</p> <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: currentcolor !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px; max-width: 100%; outline: currentcolor !important;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7362726836784205074&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40davemotoring%2Fvideo%2F7362726836784205074&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fp16-sign-sg.tiktokcdn.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-alisg-p-0037%2Fac9931ef2d86483a85d43e726da22594_1714268444%3Fx-expires%3D1714532400%26x-signature%3DzVrZCNweB4EiqQwi%252BTl1M3l7ThE%253D&amp;key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>He added that “what you can see though” was how dozens of people had marked the location of “this bloke that’s trying to rip you off” on the popular navigation app Waze.</p> <p>“That is a cool thing,” he said.</p> <p>The video quickly raked in hundreds of comments condemning the "hypocritical" police behaviour, with one person writing, “Isn’t that a parking violation?”</p> <p>Another woman said, “My husband got a $300 fine recently for ‘park on footpath/verge’. Old mate should issue himself the same fine.”</p> <p>“It’s why people have lost respect for police,” one person added.</p> <p>While most people were frustrated by the police officer's act, others sided with law enforcement, as one person said, “If you live in the area you already know not to speed there,” one said.</p> <p>“He’s hidden for a reason, the amount of people that slow down then speed up again. It's not safe."</p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

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Qantas reports huge loss but even bigger revenue

<p dir="ltr">Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has announced a whopping $1.9 billion loss for the 2022 Financial Year.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following almost two years of next to no flights due to the Covid pandemic, Mr Joyce explained that flights are “all full” as they push to get them out of storage.</p> <p dir="ltr">He however revealed that despite air travel resuming, his company has faced a devastating loss but quite an impressive revenue.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Group had an underlying loss before tax of almost $1.9 billion, and a statutory loss before tax of just under $1.2 billion,” Mr Joyce said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“That brings our total losses since the start of the pandemic to more than $7 billion and takes lost revenue to more than $25 billion.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To put that in perspective, on a statutory basis, COVID cost us more money in the past three years than we made in the five years before that.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The fact we’ve been able to steer through this is remarkable. And now that we are through it, things are improving even faster than we expected.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Joyce then noted the frustration felt by flyers due to delayed and cancelled flights, lost luggage, and labour shortage.</p> <p dir="ltr">He said that they are working toward improving customers’ experience as leisure flying soared to 125 per cent of pre-Covid levels and business travel to 90 per cent. </p> <p dir="ltr">“As many of you have probably experienced, strong travel demand has also brought some difficulties,” he continued. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We knew the recovery was coming and we were ready for the restart. What we weren’t ready for – after 18 months of COVID being suppressed – was such high levels of community transmission and the sick leave that followed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The rebound in travel demand also coincided with a massive labour shortage. Of course, that shortage has been more acute in aviation because of how many people left the industry during two very uncertain years.</p> <p dir="ltr">“All of this resulted in well-publicised problems: long queues, delayed flights and misplaced bags.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was incredibly tough for our people and deeply frustrating for our passengers. It simply wasn’t good enough, and for that, we have apologised.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Joyce revealed that the company has hired more than 1,500 staff since April, with more new recruits to come in the next few months.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We’re reducing our domestic flying – in part – to give us more buffer. We are rostering more crew across fewer flights, which means we can better cover sick leave that is averaging almost 50 per cent above normal,” he continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We’re also investing more in technology, including an upgrade to our airport kiosks and bag drop facilities, as well as new scanners at boarding gates.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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New stealth tech to bust parking violators

<p>Sneaky stealth technology is now being used to slap drivers with fines for violating parking rules.</p> <p>Council workers are driving around in a vehicle which is fitted with special licence plate recognition cameras that record the time of parking. </p> <p>When the workers come back for another scan to potential violators, they are alerted of vehicles that have overstayed the limit.</p> <p>Drivers are then surprised with a fine in their mailbox. </p> <p>At the moment these vehicles are being used by The Hills Shire and Bayside Council in NSW, but motorists are not happy.</p> <p>“This is way too far, it's beyond a joke. This is not the Australian way of life. What happened to this being a free country? We aren't even free to step outside our homes without the government watching our every step. you need a telescope to spot the line that's how far over it this has gone,” someone wrote. </p> <p>“How ridiculous. Pure revenue raising. No one is harmed by people overstaying parking limits,” another commented. </p> <p>“Oh for goodness sake aren't they ripping off the people of NSW enough,” another said. </p> <p>“They should make more free parking spaces rather than finding more innovative ways to charge them! The huge amount of toll we pay seems like not enough! It’s unbelievable how difficult it is to find free parking spaces in Sydney nowadays,” someone else commented.</p> <p><em>Image: Nine News</em></p>

Money & Banking

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"Stark but not surprising": Qantas CEO reveals staggering loss

<p><span>Qantas has announced they have had a $1.08 billion half-year loss, following their dramatic $6.9 billion plunge in revenue due to restrictive travel bans and rules.</span><br /><br /><span>The net loss before tax was $1.47 billion, however the airline will be able to offset part of that against future tax bills.</span><br /><br /><span>"These figures are stark but not surprising," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.</span><br /><br /><span>"During the half we saw the second wave in Victoria and the strictest domestic travel restrictions since the pandemic began. Virtually all of our international flying and 70 per cent of domestic flying stopped, and with it went three-quarters of our revenue."</span><br /><br /><span>The airline remains hopeful and said they still have $4.2 billion in available cash to keep going until Australia's international border reopens and domestic travel ramps up to more normal levels.</span><br /><br /><span>Qantas is currently expecting international travel to resume more broadly at the end of October.</span><br /><br /><span>They have started selling tickets to the UK or US for travel as early as July.</span><br /><br /><span>The airline is hopeful of a "material increase" in trans-Tasman flying.</span><br /><br /><span>Unfortunately there has been a COVID-19 outbreak in Auckland that has seen several states already reimpose quarantine restrictions on New Zealand arrivals.</span><br /><br /><span>Qantas is hoping to have 60 per cent of pre-COVID domestic capacity by the end of March and 80 per cent by the end of June.</span><br /><br /><span>The airline is currently running at just 8 per cent of international capacity.</span><br /><br /><span>They are doing this through trans-Tasman and repatriation flights.</span></p>

Money & Banking

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Road rules change that has seen speeding fines triple

<p>They look like regular cars parked on the side of the road.</p> <p>But in fact they're part of dozens of mobile speed cameras, catching unknowing drivers more often than ever before.</p> <p>According to 9News, the NSW Government's overhaul of the speed camera program, which includes removing warning signs, stripping back vehicle markings, and increasing enforcement time on our roads, is having a massive impact.</p> <p>The amount of fines handed out per month has more than tripled since the changes were put in place, with revenue surging to a record high of almost $2.5 million in December.</p> <p>In comparison, the figure was under $400,000 for the same month in the previous year.</p> <p>The State Government claims the changes to mobile speed cameras will ensure safety on our roads, but critics believe keeping the camera visible is a more effective way to change driver behaviour.</p> <p>NRMA's Peter Khoury says removing warning signs eliminates the opportunity to educate drivers about speeding in real time.</p> <p>"Is it a good policy? Well no, it's not. Will it save lives? Probably not," he said.</p> <p>"We've lost all of that education, we still have the enforcement but all too often people don't find out they've done the wrong thing until two to three weeks later [when they receive a fine in the mail]."</p> <p>NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole announced changes to the mobile speed camera program on public safety grounds on November 19 last year.</p>

Money & Banking

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Alan Jones’ radio show revenue down by 50 per cent following Jacinda Ardern comment

<p><span>Alan Jones’ 2GB morning radio show has lost around half its advertising revenue following brands’ boycott over the host’s comments about New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.</span></p> <p><span>More than 80 companies – including Big W, Bunnings, Bing Lee and ME Bank – have pulled their advertising from Jones’ program since he commented in August that Ardern should have a sock shoved “down her throat”.</span></p> <p><span>According to <em><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/alan-jones-advertising-boycott-likely-to-cost-1-million-20190831-p52mqh.html">The Sydney Morning Herald</a></em>, the ad boycott had cost 2GB about $1 million in lost revenue in September, and the amount could rise up to <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/alan-jones-radio-show-revenue-down-by-50pc-as-boycott-bites/ar-BBXfdWb?li=AAgfLCP">$6 million on an annualised basis</a>.</span></p> <p><span>Jones re-signed a two-year contract worth $4 million a year in May. In August, Nine chief executive Hugh Marks said the shock jock is worth <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/macquarie-could-survive-the-loss-of-alan-jones-nine-ceo-hugh-marks-20190822-p52joo.html">10 per cent of Macquarie Media’s total revenue</a>.</span></p> <p><span>The comment on Ardern was the latest in a string of on-air blunders for Jones. In 2012, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/alan-jones-boycott-data-shows-drop-in-ads-for-2gb/11487166">more than 70 companies pulled their advertising</a> after Jones suggested that Julia Gillard’s late father “died of shame” over his daughter telling lies in parliament, costing the network as much as $80,000 a day.</span></p> <p><span>In 2018, Jones apologised to Opera House CEO Louise Herron after suggesting she <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/alan-jones-influence-cant-stop-the-100000-plus-supporting-louise-herron/">should be sacked</a> for refusing to have a horse-racing promotion projected on the building’s sails.</span></p>

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